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Madam Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my Annual Report for 1954.
The Registrar General has estimated the mid-year population at 168,600. This is
500 fewer than in 1953 and shows a continuation of the slow downward trend of recent years.
The birth and death rates were both slightly less favourable than in the previous
year but not to any significant extent. The death rate, in particular, suffers comparison
with last year's low record, and it still keeps below the national figure. This is equally
true of the Registrar General's "adjusted" rate which takes account of local differences in
age and sex composition of the population.
The infant mortality rate reached a new low level of 21.5 Per 1,000 live births.
Unfortunately, this was partly counterbalanced by a higher stillbirth rate; and so the
wastage of Infant lives, represented by the total of stillbirths and infant deaths, was
actually a little greater than it was two years ago when the infant mortality rate was
higher. It is, of course, as important to prevent stillbirths as it is to prevent the
deaths of children after birth, and it looks as though it might prove the more difficult
problem.
On balance, it may be said that the year under review was a favourable one for
infectious diseases. Scarlet fever seems to be on the decline, at least for the time being;
and we were spared the seasonal prevalence of poliomyelitis which has become all too usual
in recent years: neither measles nor whooping cough were epidemic. West Ham, however,
shared the national increase of dysentery and food poisoning notifications; and the
incidence of tuberculosis remained high, despite the steadily falling mortality from this
disease. The increase of dysentery and food poisoning, coupled with a rising tendency in
the national figures for other bowel infections, is somewhat disturbing. While they
rarely threaten life they do give rise to an unpleasant upset; and being often foodborne,
their prevalence implies that all is not yet well with our methods of food handling. Clean
food campaigns, in the home as well as in the trade, have still much to accomplish.
Turning to the work of the various sections of the department, it may be of
interest first to note the Chief Sanitary Inspector's account of the recent food and
drugs legislation on pages 22 & 23. The new Act is an attempt, within the limits of
practicability, to improve the situation outlined at the end of the preceding paragraph:
it is not yet in operation, and so its effects still remain to be seen. The Chief Sanitary
Inspector also comments at some length on housing and air pollution.
The school health service has the great satisfaction of recording the opening
of the Spastic Unit at Elizabeth Fry Special School. The Unit is described on page 118,
with a supplementary account of its work for spastic children on page 8. The great merit
of this particular Unit is that it can provide both treatment and education for spastic
children of all ages: even those below the "special school age" of 2 years can attend
for treatment if suitable. The organised care of the young "spastic" Is one of the more
recent applications of medical knowledge to the relief of the handicapped child; and
this Unit is designed to take the fullest advantage of all the services that can be
applied to this end.
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